


The Unexpected Bond

by yvochrali



Series: The Retoldverse [6]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Humorous Ending, POV Alternating, POV Cordelia Chase, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26053861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvochrali/pseuds/yvochrali
Summary: Once in a while, two people who may never have connected sit down and bond. Sometimes during war, or after. Other times, in an empty library. You know, the place where the books live. Part 6 of the Retoldverse. Set in Season 3. Collides with Something we should have done.
Relationships: Faith Lehane & Cordelia Chase
Series: The Retoldverse [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891282
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Unexpected Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffyverse. If I did, Faith and Cordelia would be locked together in a room, while I casually watch to see the sparks fly.
> 
> Cordelia and Faith: (simultaneously) With her?!

**An Unexpected Bond**

Tap.

Beat.

_Tap._

Beat.

_Ta-_

" _God!_ What is _wrong_ with you?!" Cordelia stood up and slammed both palms against the large, round library table, glaring furiously at the said offender, who was- _amazingly_ -sitting properly for once, (her feet weren't propped up on the table. Giles would be proud) but at the same time still managed to be as insufferably _irritating_.

Faith blinked innocently at her as if it somehow confused her- _not_ -that the other girl would think that she would _ever_ do such a thing.

Then; she raised a finger as if to tap it once more on the wood.

Cordelia's eyes burned with fire, and with quick reflexes, reached across the table to slam her hand on Faith's hand, trapping it in her grasp.

"Gee, Queen C, didn't know that ya thought of me that way. I'm flattered, _really_ ," She eyed Cordelia thoughtfully "but you´re not my type." A smirk tugged at her lips, her eyes gleamed with mirth and arrogance.

Cordelia felt her face burn and she quickly snatched her hand away, clearing her throat. "They'll be back soon." She muttered, sitting back down again. Recent events had gotten under her skin and made her agitated and fidgety; sometimes she hated that she cared. The Scoobies had wiggled their ways into her uncaring heart, and now she wanted nothing more than to go to England to strangle every Watcher she happened upon.

There was a moment of silence.

"Say, it is true tha' B lost her powers?" Faith asked cautiously, seeming to sense her dark mood.

Cordelia looked up, a scowl on her normally, composed face. " _Unfortunately_. Why?" She asked sharply.

Faith looked startled, then... _concerned_? Before Cordelia could properly analyse the look, it disappeared as soon as it came, replaced by disinterest. "She'll get em' back, right?" She asked warily, shifting a little. Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the movement. _She cares about her. Huh, that's new. And yet, not so surprising._

"Of course," Cordelia replied swiftly. "We're the good guys."

Faith snorted, amused at her naivety. "Don't always work tha' way, C." She continued, "If we all thought tha' way, we'd all be dead." _Some already are._ Like Diana.

Cordelia glared at her, her eyes flashing. "Shut up. I'm trying to think positive. You know, _happy thoughts_?" She snapped.

Faith raised a dark eyebrow. "Don't reckon ya have too many of those then." She said bluntly. _Who does?_

The other girl ignored her comment, but the slayer knew that she had hit home. The former Queen Bee wouldn't have let it go if it hadn't.

_Guess we have somethin' in common then. Who'd have thought?_

_"_ Besides...if Buffy lost her powers, we'd only have you." Cordelia said suddenly, mischievously eyeing the other girl.

Faith gasped in mock-hurt. "Ya hate me that much, C?" She put her hand dramatically to her chest. "And here I thought tha' we were gettin' along just _five by five_."

Cordelia scoffed loudly. "Ha! In _you're_ dreams!"

"Hmmm, maybe I will." Faith wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing the other girl to burn scarlet and push away from the table, her chair making scraping sounds as she tried to get as much distance between herself and the Slayer.

"God, you- _you_!" Cordelia complained. " _Ugh_! I rest my case! I _really_ hope Buffy gets her powers back!" She shot Faith a disgruntled look. "If I had to deal with you ordering _me_ around all day...-" She broke off as she realized how _wrong_ that sounded. She internally groaned.

"Wouldn't mind it." And cue the Faith-like comments. Cordelia knew that she was just joking around but, God, couldn't she do it somewhere else?.

"I-I'm-I'm going to find the others!" Cordelia quickly stood up-once again-from her chair. "They should be back by now, anyway." She muttered under her breath. _What would they be doing in Buffy's bedroom so long anyway...no, no, don't go there! Ugh, stupid Faith. Why do I always get involved in things I don't want to get involved in the first place?_. She turned back to the slayer, who simply grinned at her impishly. "Don't leave, okay? Just...stay right there."

"Whatever you say, Queen C." Faith propped her feet up on the table.

_I take back what I said earlier. Giles will have an aneurysm._

Cordelia turned on her heel and pointed a finger in the Slayer's direction. "Okay! That's enough! Now, you _listen_ to me and you _listen_ good; Go bother Buffy, _not_. _me_. None of the..." She gestured wildly at Faith, "...flirty, slut-y thing, you _hear_ me?" _Now I'm putting a -y on everything! I've spent way too much time around Willow. Every soon I'll be...babbling in my head. O-k-a-y, Chase, you're Queen C, not babble queen._

With every word Faith nodded mock-seriously, putting a fist under her chin like that Greek God that Cordelia couldn't for the _life_ of her remember the name of. "Uh-huh. Hm, oh yeah. Uh-huh."

Cordelia threw her hands up in the air. " _How do you be so irritating?_ " She yelled desperately, realizing that no amount of blunt, Queen Bee charm, or even (failed) intimidation, was going to get through the Dark Slayer, which were practically all of her defences.

Faith leaned back against her chair, folding her hands behind her head, looking very much like a relaxed (yet still dangerous) tiger.

"What can I say?" She shrugged her shoulders carelessly, her dark eyes meeting Cordelia's. "It's a talent."

Cordelia's eye twitched, then she slumped her own shoulders. " _I can't_." She uttered quietly, giving in.

"Than don't. Just _relax_ , C. Buffy'll be five by five." As she said that, her eyes flashed with emotion that Cordelia could not describe. "As ya said...we're the good guys. We always win." She didn't seem convinced, but Cordelia appreciated the sentiment.

"I thought you didn't believe that." It wasn't an accusation, just a statement.

Faith just gazed at her with an unreadable expression. "I don't. But ya seem too...even if I think you're crazy." She raised her hands in defence as Cordelia narrowed her eyes at her, "Hey, _hey_ , not judgin'. You can believe what ya want. Not my place to think otherwise."

Cordelia couldn't deny that while she may not like Faith very much, the younger girl was the most mature out of all of them. She saw the world in a different light; a different perspective, but what Cordelia couldn't understand, was _why_.

"You know, maybe you aren't _quite_ so bad as you make people think," Cordelia commented, eyeing the slayer suspiciously.

Faith shot her an equally suspicious look, "And you _are_?"

_Touche._

"See, you're smarter than you look." Cordelia retorted.

"Okay, you caught me, but don't go telling tall tales to B, 'kay?" Faith warned her seriously. The semi-serious look on her face was replaced by a wry smirk as she continued, "Don't want her dying of shock, do we now?"

Cordelia couldn't help but let out a rather unladylike bark of laughter at this, which in turn caused Faith's smirk to impossibly widen across her face. "True." She mused. "She sure can't handle big revelations, can she?"

Since Cordelia had first met the blonde slayer, she had always been uptight and had a hard time processing new stuff if it conflicted with her already stable beliefs. It drove Cordelia (and everyone else) crazy sometimes.

"Yeah." Faith agreed. Then her smirk faltered and she once again looked at Cordelia seriously. "Are we actually bonding?" She asked.

"Bonding?" Cordelia repeated.

They both frowned, contemplating the absurd possibility.

Beat.

Were they bonding?

Before she could answer, Faith, answered her unspoken question.

"Nah. We're just talking, ya know?" She smirked off-handedly at Cordelia.

Cordelia nodded vigorously. "Yes, just... _talking_." _Nope, nothing happening here._

Faith nodded as well, though more slowly. She glanced at the library doors, only a few meters away from them.

"Ya think that they'll be back anytime soon?" She rocked back and forward on the balls of her feet.

"Honestly? No."

"Think that they're having their own bonding time? B seemed pretty upset earlier." Cordelia knew that Faith would never admit it, but she had become quite attached to her fellow Slayer, and it was as clear that she didn't know whether she was welcome or not, mostly because of Willow.

Sometimes, Willow really had to learn when too far was _too far_. The trick with wielding blunt honesty with style and class was to know when to _not go over the line_.

The awkwardness in the room decreased slightly as their concern for their blonde friend decided for them what they were going to do next.

"Let's go see if she's alright. I'm sure Buffy will appreciate the support." Cordelia said softly.

Faith hesitated, shuffling her feet. "Ya think Red will be chill with me being there?" She asked, sounding unsure.

"She has to be. Otherwise, she'll have me to deal with, okay?" Cordelia promised.

The other girl looked her up and down, her eyebrows shooting up dubiously.

Cordelia almost smiled at the doubtful look. "Don't worry about her. Or Xander." She sighed. "Come on."

As they exited the library, Faith spoke up.

"Sooo, you sure that they aren't-"

" _Faith!_ "

**Finite**

**Author's Note:**

> That was probably the longest one-shot that I have ever written. (and it's still short)
> 
> Honsetly, I've always wanted to see Cordy and Faith bond. But they never did; at least, not during the show. Imagine, sending them off on a mission together...it. would. be. awesome.
> 
> A battle of wills.
> 
> Here, it's more domestic. And personal. Angst to the fullest. Not quite as passionate and fiery as you would imagine them to be if they're literally fighting for their lives. These one-shots haven't quite reached that level, because I am still testing my writing abilities, which are, sadly, not quite "top-notch" yet.
> 
> They will get better. And funnier. I have the potential for that, but I am deliberately making them kinda of not-action-y in order to basically introduce you guys to a world that is radically different. Slow-burn, if you will.
> 
> Anyway, R&R and don't forget to follow and favourite!
> 
> xo


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